


I Just Want The Time You Have Left

by segnoLOVE



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, Humor, Injury, M/M, Minhyun almost dying, Minki being a awesome, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Minren - Freeform, Romance, Someone dies but not a major character, Zombies, a bit of crying, minhyun is in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/segnoLOVE/pseuds/segnoLOVE
Summary: When Minhyun had woken up this morning, he was determined to confess to his best friend Choi Minki no matter what the day brought. But how was he suppose to know the Zombie Apocalypse  would happen on the same day? Now, besides finding a good time to confess he also had to survive long enough to do it.Why did he have to have such bad luck.
Relationships: Choi Minki | Ren & Hwang Minhyun, Choi Minki | Ren/Hwang Minhyun
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19
Collections: Spring Blessings (Nu'est 8th Anniversary Fic Fest)





	I Just Want The Time You Have Left

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I joined the Nufic fest since it sounded extremely fun. In all honesty I thought I was gonna have to settle with a Jren fic prompt but lo and behold I found some Minren propmts listed. This is probably gonna be my longest fic ever so
> 
> whoever wrote Prompt 90, thank you and I hope this fic is to your liking. 
> 
> Enjoy.

Minhyun was afraid, he had no idea where he was or where exactly he was heading. But he knew he had to run. His surroundings changed from concrete floor to lush green trees. 

“I need to find him. Please, let me find him.” He heard himself whisper. Who was he looking for? Before he could ponder the thought any longer, he heard multiple growls from behind him. His heart stopped and he was paralyzed with fear. Minhyun frantically looked around, hoping to catch a glance at the monsters chasing him. 

“I'm not afraid of you!” he shouted attempting to mask the terror in his voice. He didn’t know why he even shouted but the growls stopped, leaving behind the sounds of cicadas and crickets. The tense did not leave Minhyun’s body but despite his uneasiness, he took a step forward. This would be his mistake.

A hand shot out from beneath him and painfully gripped his ankle. He could feel his body being dragged into the ground and all he could do was scream. 

_____________________________

Minhyun jolted awake. His breath was labored and he could still feel the remains of the fear coursing through his body.  _ ‘Only a dream’ _ he chanted in his head. He sat still for a few more seconds, waiting for his racing heart to calm down. Not a minute later, his 8am alarm rang out breaking the silence of the morning. He immediately got up to shut it off and started to make his bed. With every move he made, the memory of the dream began to leave him until all that remained was a small strand of fear. After a quick clean of his bedroom. Minhyun went to take a shower. 

Minhyun was known for being  _ particular  _ to cleaning and being organized. Everything had a specific place to be and everything had to be cleaned to a certain extent. He had even bought things in bulk to ensure his organized stacks would stay that way. His best friend, Minki, would always tease him for his preferences and always playfully pushed Minhyun’s buttons when it came to his cleaning. Just a few days ago, Minki had slept over and attempted to sleep in Minhyun’s bed without taking a shower but the younger had told him he was only joking and had indeed taken a shower when Minhyun had. 

Feeling fresh after a 30 minute shower Minhyun was ready to tackle on the day. Ruffling his hair with a towel, he briefly checked his phone notifications. One of his professors had sent out an email about a paper due in a few weeks time and another had cancelled her afternoon class due to a family emergency. With his afternoon schedule cleared, Minhyun could use the time to do some much needed grocery shopping. 

His phone vibrated in his hand a second later startling him. Once Minhyun read the name behind the message, he could not contain the smile stretching across his face. 

_ Minhyun your class doesn’t start until 11am right? Let’s get breakfast together then. _

**Wow! Choi Minki is waking up early?**

_ I’ll have you know I’m trying to lead a healthier lifestyle now _

**Your Professor threatened to fail you if you came late again didn’t he.**

_ Yes. But that’s not the point. I just wanted to eat breakfast with you :( _

**Minki, you saw me just last night. We ate dinner together.**

_ :( so? _

**Fine. Let’s go to the diner you like a lot. It’ll be my treat :)**

_ Hwang Minhyun prepare your wallet, I’m gonna eat till my stomach pops. _

Minhyun chuckled to himself and grinned at his phone. Both boys had met back in high school after moving to Seoul and connected immediately after discovering they were from Busan. Minki was known for being a slacker while Minhyun was the complete opposite, diligently doing his work. Despite his laziness, Minki was incredibly nice and pretty much had everyone wrapped around his fingers. He had a pretty smile and sparkling eyes that shone so brightly you couldn’t bring yourself to scold him. Or maybe that was just Minhyun since their high school teachers were always giving him detention for one thing or another. 

He wasn’t entirely sure when his feelings for Minki changed from friendly to romantic. Maybe it had been the day they went to a haunted house and Minki had refused to let go of Minhyun’s hand. Or maybe it was the day Minhyun had convinced his parents to let him sleepover at the younger’s house since he didn’t want to sleep alone. But it also could’ve been the day where Minki had taken a detour while going home and told Minhyun about a litter of stray cats he had been trying to get close to. 

Minhyun really didn’t know when his view of Minki shifted but he knew he was utterly in love with him. 

**Don’t make me go broke or else I’m gonna be crashing at your place and stealing your food.**

_ Jokes on you, I only have beer and ice cream :P _

Putting his phone down, Minhyun finally went to his closet and hurriedly searched for an appropriate outfit for the spring weather. He settled on wearing a white collared button up and light blue jeans. Giving himself a once over, he hummed in satisfaction. 

_ ‘Today’s the day. I’ll finally confess my feelings to Minki.’ _ Minhyun had made multiple attempts to tell the younger about his feelings but the timing never felt right or something would happen causing the moment to be ruined. For example, they both were celebrating the end of their midterms a while back and had gotten extremely drunk at his house. The only problem was Minhyun is a lightweight and after drinking a few cans of beers and 1 bottle of soju he knocked out. He remembers wrapping his arm around Minki and telling him to stop talking since he had something to say but then the memory is consumed by darkness so, Minhyun assumes he fell asleep on top of the boy. 

Once again, he was snapped out of his thoughts with the sound of a knock on his front door. Looking at his watch he realized another 30 minutes had passed, giving Minki more than enough time to come over. Minhyun checked his appearance again, making sure he looked presentable before running towards the door. With more force than necessary, he opened the door and came face to face with an angel. 

Minki’s eyes widened and his hand was in an outstretched position ready to knock again. “Woah, where’s the fire?” he jokingly asked. With flushed cheeks, Minhyun moved aside allowing the other boy to enter and take off his shoes. 

“Can I use your bathroom? I passed by the store to buy cat food for the stray cat down the street.” 

“Why are you asking? You practically live here already.” Minhyun went back to his room to retrieve his bag and put on cologne, the sound of the bathroom door closed a second later and reopened right after. It was only then that Minhyun took notice of what the boy was wearing. Minki had on light beige trousers, an off white v-neck sweater. Perhaps Minhyun stared too long cause the younger had given him a strange look. 

“Are you okay?” Minhyun coughed and ducked his head down to hide his growing blush. 

“Let’s go. If we waste any more time we’ll never make it to class on time.” he hastily tied his white sneakers while trying to ignore Minki’s gaze on him. 

As Minki began to tell Minhyun about something that happened to him the day before, the latter couldn’t help but feel a sense of uneasiness wash over him. The streets were unusually quiet and hardly anyone was in sight. Minhyun felt as if he was missing something but before he could ponder on the thought any longer, Minki playfully hit his shoulder. 

“Are you even listening to me?” his eyes narrowed and stared accusingly at the taller. 

“Doesn’t it seem too...empty here?” ignoring Minki’s question Minhyun continued to glance around. The streets were void of any other presence and he lived relatively close to a popular marketplace so it was very strange. 

“Maybe since it’s early in the morning not everyone is leaving their house yet?” Minki suggested. Minhyun hesitantly agreed and continued to let Minki talk his ear off but the uneasiness still did not disappear especially when they finally arrived at the diner that bustled with life. They were quickly seated in a booth and immediately ordered their usual breakfast plates. The restaurant mainly served western food so Minki always ordered waffles topped with whipped cream and an assortment of berries while Minhyun usually ate a breakfast sandwich. 

“What did you do this time to upset your professor?” asked Minhyun, taking a sip of his Iced Americano. 

“Ah, last week we had a quiz and I woke up really late. I had to run to school wearing my pajamas and my hair was an absolute mess. I was 15 minutes late and the door was locked so I knocked and he came to open the door but he wasn’t gonna let me in. Naturally I would’ve just skipped class but I had finally studied the night before so I was persistent to take the quiz. Then I did the most embarrassing thing ever.”

Minki ducked his head and played with a stray blueberry on his plate. He refused to meet Minhyun’s eyes but the taller boy could see the pink dusting his cheeks. 

“What did you do?” Minhyun leaned forward intrigued by Minki’s story. The younger’s blush darken and he mumbled. 

“I got down on my knees and...I-” Minki looked around, searching to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. Luckily, everyone else seemed to be in their own world. The younger took a deep breath and whispered loud enough for his friend to hear him. 

“I went on my knees and...begged him to let me in.” Minhyun was at a loss. At first, it didn’t seem too embarrassing but the more he thought about it, he realized he would be mortified especially if it looked like he had just rolled out of bed. 

“Was it the pink pajamas with the little bunnies and carrots?” he chose to ask instead. Minki slowly nodded and took a small sip from his drink. 

“Yeah, I don’t know how you can show your face in that class ever again.” the boy whined at Minhyun’s words and sulked in his seat.

“I have so much trouble waking up. I even have 5 alarms on but I always sleep through them.” Minki cut another piece of his waffles and chewed sadly with his eyes downcasted. 

_ ‘He’s so cute. I just want to lean over and kis-’ _ Minhyun cleared his throat, stopping his train of thought. 

“I could just walk to school with you in the morning. Besides, I was thinking of heading to school earlier so I could study in the library so it’s not a big deal.“ he tried to appear nonchalant but his heart was beating quickly. The truth was, he hoped Minki would accept his offer so they could spend more time together, he had no need to study since he was doing well in all his classes.

Minki slowly began to smile brightly, nodding frantically. “You’d do that for me? Wow, you’re the best!” he gave him a thumbs up and continued eating his waffles. Minhyun smiled to himself, feeling ecstatic about starting his future mornings seeing the younger. 

A few more minutes passed, both boys finally finished their breakfast and began the trek to their university. They continued to speak about little things they had forgotten to share the night before. Minhyun had told Minki about the time a couple were having a fight in public and the girlfriend had thrown her drink at her boyfriend. The boyfriend had ducked out of the way and Minhyun had been the one to get drenched. He was too in shock by what had just happened, the woman’s desperate apologies were completely ignored. Thinking about it now, Minhyun thought the situation was incredibly comical. 

Minki could not stop laughing when Minhyun had finished recounting the story. They had to stop walking so the boy could regain his breath. 

“I’m glad my suffering is up to your amusement.” the taller playfully glared at the other. Minki continued to gasp for air and his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. 

“You have the worst luck on this entire planet.” he continued to giggle to himself. Before he could take a step forward, Minhyun hand shot out and softly grabbed Minki’s arm. 

“Hm? What-?” Minhyun interrupted the boy and took a deep breath. He was gonna do it now before he his nerves could stop him. Besides, he didn’t know how long it would take until he could no longer hold himself back from blurting out his feelings at the wrong moment. 

“Minki, there’s something I want to tell you. It’s something I’ve been keeping to myself for a while now and I feel like it’s time I become completely honest with you..” Minhyun shut his eyes tightly, feeling a familiar burning sensation behind his eyelids. What if Minki rejected him and this confession ended their friendship? Could he really live his life without Minki by his side? He didn’t want to jeopardize their relationship but Minhyun could no longer hide his longing for his best friend. Even if he lost Minki, at least he would not be lying to himself anymore. With his newfound courage he opened his mouth, his confession at the tip of his tongue. 

“ I lo-” his words were silenced over the sound of a phone ringing. Minki gave him an apologetic look and turned off the ringer. His eyes catch the time flashing on the screen, letting out a gasp. 

“I’m really sorry Minhyun but I can’t be late to class again. Let’s talk later, okay?” Minhyun wasn’t given enough time to process what just happened, even less to utter a response to the younger boy. Minki smiled and patted the other on his arm. He then turned and ran towards the direction of their school leaving Minhyun behind. 

The realization of an opportunity lost begins to sink in. He let out a sigh staring at Minki’s retreating body getting smaller as the distance increased between them. 

_ ‘That didn’t go how I hoped it would. No matter, even if today’s the end of the world I’ll tell him everything.’  _ With this thought in mind, Minhyun felt more invigorated and with every step he took there was a little bounce to it. 

By the time he reached the front step of his school, Minki’s lecture had passed the first few minutes. Minhyun slowly headed to his first class, he expected to see a few classmates in the room but to his surprise he was the first to arrive.

“Oh? It seems like I came super early this time” he said to himself as he sat near a window. His class wouldn’t start for another 15 minutes so he let his mind wander for a moment. He immediately thought about Minki  _ ‘I hope he managed to make it on time. If not, I’ll treat him to something extra delicious tonight.’ _ Minhyun pulled his phone out of his pocket and went to his messages. 

**Minki, did you get to class on time?**

_ Barely, Professor Lee was about to shut the door but I managed to squeeze my way through. You’ve seen the look he gave me. _

**Well, maybe you should stop being late to class then.**

_ But now I have you ro make sure I wake up on time :D _

Minhyun smiled and softly chuckled to himself. His phone vibrated with a new message from Minki but the smile left his face once he read it. 

_ By the way, what was it you were gonna tell me? It sounded really important… _

He bit his lip, thinking how to reply to the younger male. Should he really tell him now or wait to see him in person? He quickly typed out a message, 

**The truth is, I’m in love with you.**

His finger hovered over the send button but he could not bring himself to press it.  _ ‘I don’t want to confess over the phone.’ _ he deleted the message and constructed a new one. 

**My professor just walked in, we’ll talk later.**

_ Whatever it is, just know I’ll always be here okay? _

**Thanks, Minki.**

After Minki’s text, Minhyun felt bad lying about his professor coming but he couldn’t tell him the truth, not yet. The timing wasn’t right and MInhyun wanted to confess in a more romantic way. He sighed and turned his phone face down. Looking around, he realized the seats were being filled by other students. He hastily took out his notebook and a pen. His professor had yet to arrive so he gazed out the window hoping that time would go faster. There were many students running towards different buildings while others briskly walked, Minhyun could tell a majority of them were late to their classes. But there was one student who seemed to be staggering towards another building. Before he could get a closer look, the door was slammed open by his professor. 

“Sorry I’m late to class but traffic was horrendous this morning. Now, we’ll be continuing our discussion from last class-” The classroom remained silent minus the sound of keyboards clicking and pencil scratching on paper. The lecture seemed especially long that day, Minhyun was beginning to feel sleepy with every word Professor Kang would say. 

Everything would change based on the next few seconds. 

A strange sound echoed out in the hallway causing all the students to whisper among themselves. At first, the professor attempted to ignore the voices of the class but the sound continued to grow louder. The older man slammed his hand on the desk in front of him, takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. The noise startles the class, a few students jump in their seats while the rest stop their mumbling. 

The class goes back to silence while the Professor resumed his lesson again. It seemed the lesson would go as usual but the strange got even louder as if it were coming from behind their door. Professor Kang goes to the door, ready to scold the student causing the ruckus. Once the door is opened, the professor is tackled to the floor by another body. 

“Wh-what are you doing? Get off of me!” he shouts, unable to get out from underneath the person on him. His shirt begins to get soaked by a warm liquid and he makes eye contact with the body on top of him. The professor is met with a gruesome face making him halt his movement and stare in horror. Before he can react, it bites into his neck, tearing into the skin and chews on the flesh underneath. He lets out a blood curdling scream as his blood paints the linoleum floor. 

The scene in front of them causes the students to stare in silence but it’s broken by the sound of a female student falling on the floor and begins to scream. The sound brings everyone back to their senses, they frantically run toward the door, ignoring the fallen body of their professor. Every single student shoves to escape the room and among them Minhyun is running on autopilot. 

Despite seeing it firsthand, his brain cannot grasp the reality of his situation.  _ ‘Z-zombies…? There’s no way-’ _ he thinks to himself but when he manages to exit his classroom the severity of the situation becomes very real. A horde of students ran down the hallway, screaming their throats raw. Many were tackled to the ground, red dying the floor beneath them while others laid motionless. 

To Minhyun’s terror, the bodies that laid still began to twitch on the floor and would then rise up a few seconds later. He felt his stomach lurch at the sight of missing flesh from various parts of their bodies, a low groaning noise escaped their mouths. The zombies stumbled in Minhyun’s direction ready to find their next prey and he was not gonna stick around to fall at their hands. He turned and followed the crowd of students. 

It’s a miracle Minhyun was able to weave through the students and avoid falling bodies. He even managed to dodge blood soaked hands but at the expense of others. The gruesome sight happening all around was too much to bear, he wished this would be a realistic nightmare. Any minute now he’ll wake up and it’ll all be a dream, a horrible dream. But the truth was, the world was ending and Minhyun needed to run. He wanted to, no, he needed to survive. 

He sees the exit and relief fills his body.  _ ‘I need to find Minki. Please, let him be safe.’ _ Dread fills him as an image passes in his mind. The image of Minki laying on the ground, his eyes void of any life and his blood gushing out of his neck. Minhyun shakes his head and pushes himself harder.  _ ‘I’ll find him alive.’ _ .

The metal doors are a few meters ahead, he can feel the cool wind of the spring air hit his face. But before he can make his escape, a hand pulls his leg causing him to crash onto the floor. He lets out a pained grunt, his stomach coming into contact with the ground. Looking behind him, he sees an unfamiliar face gripping his ankle. What used to be a handsome face was now rendered to discolored skin, pearl white irises and dried blood stained its teeth. Paralyzed with fear, Minhyun was unable to move.  _ ‘Is this how I die?’ _ he asks himself. 

Shoes smacking on the ground, shrieks of those around him disappear, the only thing important in this moment is Minhyun and the monstrous creature bringing its mouth closer to Minhyun’s flesh.  _ ‘I couldn’t even make it out the front door. How pathetic of me. I’m sorry mom, dad, Min-’  _ At the thought of his best friend, he was snapped out of his final goodbye. The zombie yanks his leg again and Minhyun uses his other foot to frantically kick at its face until the tight grip finally loosens. Scrambling to his feet he dashes out the door and is met with the end of the world. 

Many corpses lay on the ground and hung out of crashed cars. Everyone was overwhelmed by mass hysteria, countless shouts were being thrown at multiple angles. Blood seeped on the concrete floors as more bodies were tossed to the ground and more skin was gnawed on. 

The sounds drown out as Minhyun remembers about one thing, or rather, one very important person. Minki. He looks towards the direction of his friend’s morning class and grits his teeth. Leaving Minki behind was not an option, they would both leave this hell on earth together. 

Around him the horrified screams seemed to get louder and stronger, he felt his throat tighten and his vision turned cloudy but he refused to let his fear plague his thoughts. At this moment, his only concern was to make sure the boy he loved with all his being, was alive and well. 

___________________________________

Minki was having a fairly good morning, he had woken up early for school, ate breakfast at his favorite diner and was able to spend the morning with Minhyun. He was even wearing his favorite pair of jeans, honestly nothing could make his day go wrong. But Minki now realizes how utterly wrong he was to assume this would be one of the best days of his life. In fact, he was 100% sure this day would be the worst one ever. 

After almost arriving late to class he had to be on his best behavior so his professor would stop giving him a glare every time their eyes would meet. He firmly believed Professor Jung hated him but if Minki was a teacher and had a student who arrived late to every class, he would hate them too. But in his defense, Minki prefers to spend his morning annoying Minhyun rather than attending his lectures. 

45 minutes passed very quickly and Minki’s hand was beginning to ache from the tight grip on his pen. Professor Jung decided to dismiss class earlier than usual since he had to attend a meeting somewhere. All the students were ecstatic to leave early and spoke among themselves as they planned what to do with their free time. Minki slowly packed his books away until he was the only one in the classroom. He contemplated what to do with his time.  _ ‘Should I head over to Minhyun’s class early or should I just wait here and get started on some of my other assignments?’ _ he ponders his options and ultimately decides to go to Minhyun. 

_ ‘If I go to his class, maybe I’ll be able to get him to tell me what he wanted to say this morning. He did say he would tell me later and it is later. I hope it’s nothing too serious since he looked extremely nervous this morning.’ _

Looking at the time, Minki decided to wait for Minhyun outside of his classroom. As he exited the classroom, his eyes furrowed at the eerily silent corridor. “Is the hallway usually this empty?” he asked himself. He felt a shiver travel down his spine. 

“I’m gonna scream if something appears out of nowhere.” he glances around, hoping to see at least one student wandering the hallway. He passed by the men’s bathroom and sucked in a deep breath. On the floor was a small trail of blood that disappeared behind the door. With a shaking hand, Minki pushes the door and encounters a blonde male leaning over the bathroom sink. Blood drips from the man and onto the ceramic sink. 

“H-hey, are you okay? You’re bleeding a lot.” he managed to stutter out. The boy whirls around, startled by the sound of Minki’s voice. His shirt was drenched with sweat and clinged to his body like a second skin. Minki hurriedly ran to an empty stall and unraveled a bunch of toilet paper. The other boy turned on the faucet, 

“Kinda? On my way to school I got attacked by a crazy dog. I didn’t think the bite was too bad since it wasn’t bleeding but now the blood won’t stop.” he winced as the cold water ran over his open wound. 

“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think water is gonna be able to stop that.” Minki blurted out. The other boy halted his movement and let out a soft laugh. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll go to the nurse’s office for the time being.” he grabbed his arm again. Minki could see the blood oozing from the bite, painting the fingers red. 

“Wait! You should cover the wound or else it’ll get infected '' Minki felt compelled to help the injured boy, maybe it was his young, innocent face but Minki had to make sure he was okay, at least until he reached the nurse’s office. With the toilet paper in hand,he began to wrap the wound. As soon as the pristine white sheet made contact with the other boy’s skin, it absorbed the red liquid. 

“I really appreciate your help, man. I’m Kim Juwon.” 

“Nice to meet you, Juwon. I’m Choi Minki.” Minki gave him a soft smile and carefully tied the makeshift bandage. 

“C’mon, we should get you to the nurse’s office quickly.” Juwon slumped forward, nodding along to Minki’s words. He was visibly shaking now and every step he took seemed to drain his energy. 

“Woah! How about I help you? Her office is just down the hall and you seem to be struggling…” Minki wrapped his arm around Juwon’s waist and placed the blonde boy’s other arm around his shoulder. He took a quick glance at the injured boy and saw his eyes flutter. 

“Don’t fall asleep Juwon!” Juwon hummed in response. 

“Sorry, I feel lightheaded all of a sudden. I’m okay now, we should get out of here.” Minki agreed and slowly exited the bathroom, supporting Juwon’s weight. After what felt like an eternity, he saw the sign pointing to the nurse’s office. 

“Hang on tight, we’re almost there Juwon.” with every step he took, Juwon grunted but he still remained conscious despite the pain he must’ve been in.  _ ‘This looks worse than just a regular old dog bite. He’s burning up.’  _

‘Right now I have to get him to the office so we can call an ambulance for him.’ with newfound determination, Minki quicken his pace. Once he reached the door, he accidentally slammed it open. He winced at the sound and called out to the woman who worked there. 

“I’m sorry Nurse Park but there’s a student that needs medical attention and-” his words died in his throat, there was no one in the room. 

“Nurse Park?” No one answered back. “First there’s no one in the halls and now the nurse isn’t here either. Where is everyone.?” he questions out loud. Juwon lets out another groan, breaking the silence. Minki led the boy to an empty bed and hastily made him comfortable. 

“Wait here, Juwon.” Juwon chuckled. 

“I’m currently not in a good state to run away, Minki.” He smiled weakly at the joke. Closing the curtain surrounding the bed, Minki walked away from Juwon and reached into his jean pocket for his phone. To his surprise, Minhyun hadn’t sent him any new messages which was rather odd. 

‘Minhyun’s class should be over by now. So, why hasn’t he messaged me? I’ll just call him.’ The phone rang 2 times, just as he was about to end the call Minhyun answered. 

“ _ Hey, Minhyun-” _

**“Minki! Where are you!?”** Minki pulled the phone away from his ear at the loud voice. 

_ “Why are you yelling? Is everything okay?” _

**“Please, just tell me where you are.”** Minhyun sounded extremely afraid, an emotion he never really expressed. The fear in his voice caused Minki’s own body to fill with alarm. 

_ “The nurse’s office. What’s going on?”  _

**“You don’t know? Minki, just stay inside. Don’t go anywhere. I’m on my way.”** With those final words, Minhyun hung up leaving Minki confused. He could not ponder on the thought, Juwon let out another pained groan reminding Minki the reason he why he was there. He dialed an emergency number, anxiously waiting for someone to answer. 

_ “I’m sorry but the number you have dialed is unavailable. Please dial again later.”  _ the line was then cut. 

“What? No, this is an emergency!” Minki dials the number again but gets the same automatic voice responding to him. Running his fingers through his hair, he swears under his breath and goes to check on Juwon. 

“The lines are very busy. I don’t think we’ll be able to receive any help from them. For now, we should use an actual bandage for the wound.” Juwon winces and sits up on the bed. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me Minki. Let me make it up to you after this.” He gave Minki a grin. 

“Sure, let’s worry about that later though.” Minki searched the room for the spare bandages and disinfectant wipes. He finds them stashed away in a cabinet near the nurse’s desk. 

“This is all I can really do for you, I’m sorry” Juwon waves off Minki’s apology. As he unwraps the bandage, Minki lets out a horrified gasp. 

“J-J-Juwon…” he stuttered out. Juwon hums, following Minki’s eyes and lets out a loud yelp. 

“What the fuck?” The skin around the bite was turning a sickening yellow and multiple purple webs stretched around his arm. 

“What the fuck?” he repeated, looking into Minki’s eyes. They both sat in silence, too shocked at the disgusting sight. Outside the nurse’s window, a loud commotion interrupted them. Minki went towards the window and pulled back the curtains, what he and Juwon saw was something straight out of a horror movie. 

Hordes of students were running in all sorts of directions. But what captured Minki’s attention was the female student who was running and kept looking behind her. She tripped over a body laying on the ground while a zombie approached her. She sat up and froze, she was paralyzed with fear, unable to move she failed to realize the body on the ground was beginning to twitch. 

By the time she regained her senses, it was too late. A hand shot out, grabbing her calf. She let out a blood curdling scream but no one paid heed, they all were concerned over their own wellbeing. Attempting to free herself, she kicked at the zombies face but its grip was relentless. When she noticed the other staggering body reached her, all the fight visible left her body. 

The two corpses began to tear into her stomach, blood escaping her lips painting the grass red. Minki was overcome by a large wave of nausea due to the scene before him. He closed the curtains, unwilling to see the girl lose the light in her eyes. 

“We have to go. Now” He took off his backpack and emptied out the contents oon Juwon’s bed. He had no need for his books anymore, school would no longer exist if there was no one to teach. Looking around the room, he opened every single cabinet in search of supplies that would be helpful in the long run. 

“It’s the end of the world, do I really need to take pills for indigestion? No, I don’t need it.” Minki mumbles to himself, pondering whether to take the pills. 

“Or maybe I do? Fuck it, it’s going int he bag.” he shoved the bottle into his bag and proceed to fill it with bandages, disinfectant wipes and anything he thought would help. 

“Minki. You need to go.” Juwon called out to him. Minki whirled around and gave the other a cold stare. 

“What are you talking about? We’re both getting out of here. My friend is coming and he can help carry you and my mom knows a doctor , she’ll help-” 

“Haven’t you seen Train to Busan? Those are fucking zombies out there, flesh eating monsters. I-I must’ve gotten bit by a dog carrying the virus, it’s too late for me. I’m surprised I managed to stay human this long actually” Juwon let out a shaky laugh, the situation wasn’t humorous at all but he didn’t want to face Minki’s teary gaze because nothing would stop him from bawling himself.

“I don’t know how much time I have left and I don’t want to hurt you, especially when you were so kind to me.” 

“No.” Juwon finally met his gaze with red eyes. Minki shook his head and grabbed his hand. 

“I refuse to leave you here. Once Minhyun comes, I promise you’ll-” 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Minki snapped his mouth shut and his gaze moved to the floor. Juwon tightens his grip on Minki’s hand. 

“Why won’t you leave me? Do you want to die?” Minki quietly sniffled in response. 

“Your friend, Minhyun, is gonna come here looking for you. I would rather he not see me eating your flesh.” At the sound of Minhyun’s name, Minki realizes how stupid he was being. Yes, he did not want to leave Juwon here, but what other choice did he have? Was he ready to die at the hands of a stranger? 

Realizing Minki had made his choice, Juwon laughed again. “It was nice meeting you, Minki. I really-”

“Stop. It’s not fair, we only just met and this is the only memory I’m gonna have of you.” 

“Jeez, are we in a scene of a Korean drama? Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Juwon closed his eyes, his breath labored with pain. 

“I can’t believe my death bed is gonna be in the nurse’s office. Can this day get any worse.” he studied Minki’s tear stained face one last time. 

“Well, actually it’s not that bad. At least I have a cute boy holding my hand.” Minki scoffed at the comment. 

“If you shut up now, I’ll treat you to a meal, the next time we meet.” Juwon smiled and nodded. 

“I’ll hold that against you. I could really go for some meat right now or maybe that’s what the zombie in me craves.” Minki gives him an unamused stare. 

“Too soon? Sorry, maybe a cheese pizza?” 

“Whatever you want, Juwon.” with a final squeeze of his hand, Minki shut the door behind him. He leaned his weight against the metal surface, despair filled his body at the thought of his new friend spending his last living moments alone. 

“I promise to live for the both of us.” He curled his hands into fists and dashed down the hall. When he finally reached the exit, Minki could not summon the strength necessary to push it open. This large piece of metal was his only source of protection from the apocalypse. Raw fear coursed through his body rendering him immobile. Once he walked through those doors, his life would ultimately change. Could he handle that? And what about Minhyun? Could he really find his friend among all the chaos? He didn’t want to doubt himself, not after voicing his unheard promise to Juwon. 

Minki took a deep breath and finally pushed the door open but not a moment later, he felt another collide onto his own. 

. ______________________________

Minhyun was utterly terrified. Not just from the calamity falling upon him but from the idea of Minki taking his last breath alone. Despite their short phone conversation, he still could not shake the dread of Minki getting hurt. He could see a building in the distance, Minki’s morning class was in that same building. Minhyun quickened his pace as he swerved in between every body he encountered. He had to see Minki, he would tear the entire building down if it meant he could protect the younger male.

Although this is what he would’ve liked to believe. But in reality he was powerless to shield Minki, especially in a world that threatened their survival. He had seen many zombie movies before but those weren’t serious movies so what was he supposed to do now? 

All his thoughts came crashing down once he saw a familiar face peek behind a door. Minhyun shouted his name over the chaos but the other boy did not hear him. 

“Minki!” he yelled once more, tackling the boy into a tight embrace. 

“You're okay. Thank God, you’re okay.” Minhyun could not stop his tears from escaping. His heart felt more at ease now that Minki was in his arms. 

“Holy shit. You scared the crap out of me.” Minki’s arms wrapped around Minhyun, returning the hug. The latter did not respond to Minki’s playful angry tone, he was too relieved to even care. 

“We need to go to Minhyun. Now.” 

The younger took in the destruction surrounding them. A majority of the students had made their escape while others were not so lucky. The hordes of zombies were diminishing as the time passed. 

“I don’t live far from here. We can try to come up with a plan when we get there.” He looked around again and noticed a zombie limping in their direction. Minki grabbed Minhyun’s tightly. 

“It’s too dangerous to be here.” Before Minhyun could respond, Minki began to run. Usually Minhyun would be extremely thrilled to hold the other boy's hand but right now the tight grip was his lifeline. The feeling of Minki’s soft skin against his own brought comfort to him. He wouldn’t be facing this nightmare alone, as long as Minki stayed by his side, he wouldn’t let them die. His pace quickened his own legs matching the strides Minki’s took. 

“We’ll take a shortcut through an alley.” Minki hurried down the street, keeping a close eye on any sudden zombie sightings. From a farther distance, both boys could see a familiar apartment complex come to view. They raced down an alley, praying to reach their destination safely. But their hearts pummel once another body appears in front of them. 

“Fuck. What are we gonna do?” Minhyun voices out, both boys halt and watch the zombie stagger at a slow pace. Letting go of the taller’s hand, Minki searched in his bag for something and placed it in Minhyun's palm. A key, Minki’s house key, to be precise. 

“Wha-?” he looked at Minki in confusion, afraid to hear what he planned to do.

“Minhyun, when I count to three, run straight and don’t look back, no matter what.” 

“Minki what are you-”

“One.” Minki took off his backpack, putting it on backwards so it covered his abdomen. 

“Wait.” 

“Two.”

“What’s the pla-”

“Three!” With a loud cry escaping his lips, Minki dashed forward and proceeded to throw himself on top of the unsuspecting zombie. His bag created a barrier keeping Minki’s flesh away from the undead’s mouth. 

Minhyun was shell shocked at Minki’s sudden act of bravery. This was the same boy who started crying while visiting a haunted house attraction? Minki scrambled to his feet and jumped over the zombie. 

“What the fuck, Minhyun? I told you to run.” Minhyun snapped out of his thoughts, jogged to reach Minki and kept his eyes on the corpse that laid still on the ground. 

“What the hell was that? You didn’t even tell me the plan before doing it.” Minki looked sheepish at Minhyun’s response and looked quite guilty. 

“We should get going. I'd rather we encounter another zombie later tha again right now.” with those last words, both boys were put out of harm’s way as soon as they opened the heavy glass doors. The adrenalin left their bodies once they had the comfort of the four walls protecting them from the outside. 

“When I woke up today, I was hoping to have a regular day at school. But noo, I got a zombie apocalypse instead.” Minhyun weakly chuckled at the other’s words. 

“Look on the bright side at least you won’t have to worry about being late to class anymore.” Minki narrowed his eyes. He refused to comment on Minhyun’s words, instead headed to the staircase.

“If we stay here any longer one of those things is gonna see us.” Minhyun nodded, trailing behind Minki as they climbed the stairs. After a few flights of stairs, MInhyun felt winded. He was a healthy man who took frequent trips to the gym so, why was he so tired? Perhaps his energy had disappeared after all the running he’s done so far or maybe his body was already giving up on him. 

He really wanted to take a nap. If he fell asleep, maybe this would be all a dream but no matter what he did, he could not erase the state of things right now. At the sound of Minki’s voice, he was broken out of his thoughts,

“Once we enter my place, let’s grab necessities and leave as soon as possible.” Minki stopped in front of a door, opened it, continued walking down a hallway and once again stopped in front of another door. 

“What will we do after? Where can we go?” Minhyun asked while handing over the silver house key to Minki. 

“We might have to get out of the city. There’s too many zombies roaming around…” his voice trailed off as he entered his kitchen, leaving Minhyun to take in the apartment. Minhyun was pleasantly surprised by how tidy it looked. Minki was a free spirited man and never had the patience to clean anything. 

“But we can’t go too far either since there’s more resources here.” he continued speaking. Minhyun could hear the sound of the fridge being opened and the sound of a can being cracked opened. He entered the kitchen and gave Minki a dumbfounded look. 

“We’re in the middle of an apocalypse and the first thing you do is chug a beer.” Minki gulped the liquid down and let out a refreshed sigh once he finished. 

“I really needed that.” Minki raised an eyebrow at the expression on Minhyun’s face. 

“You want one too, don’t you?” Despite his initial reaction, Minhyun slowly nodded. Minki reached into his fridge and tossed a can in Minhyun’s direction. 

“You don’t have anything in your bag correct?” Minhyun hummed in agreement, taking a sip from his cold drink. 

“For now, we’ll check the cupboards and see if I have anything we can take with us. If not, we might have to stop by a market or convenience store.” 

“How can you be so calm right now? You’re taking control over what our next plan of action should be and I’m honestly surprised by it. If anything, I expected you to be freaking out more than me.” Minhyun confessed in one breath. Minki took out another and took a sip. His shoulders sagged and he dropped his head. 

“I’m fucking terrifed , Minhyun. But what else can I do? Crying isn’t gonna solve anything nor is it gonna make this go away. All I care about now is making sure we both survive together.” Minki looked as though he had something he still wanted to say.He shook his head and left the kitchen before Minhyun could ask him about it.

“We shouldn’t waste anymore sunlight. Can you check out the window and see if any corpses are wandering the streets? We should make our escape when there’s not many of them.” 

Minhyun decided to do what the younger had told him and looked out the window in the living room. Minki’s apartment was on the 7th floor of the building and had a wonderful view of the city. Now that Minhyun thought about it, it was his first time visiting the apartment. Usually the younger boy would come over to his house but he never invited Minhyun over to his own place and Minhyun never asked either. 

“There’s too many around. Is there another way out of this building?” Minki appeared behind Him, startling him. The younger looked over Minhyuns shoulder, surveying the scene on the ground. 

“Yeah, we have an emergency exit that leads out through the back of the apartment.” Minhyun held his breath, well aware of their close proximity. His cheeks heated up, Minki was too close for him to stay sane. 

_ ‘Should I confess now?’  _ Minhyun opened his mouth but noticed Minki’s eyes were rimmed red, as if he had shed a few tears when the other boy wasn’t looking. 

_ ‘No, I’ll wait a little longer.’ _ Minki pulled away and began mumbling to himself. 

“I don’t have anything that we can take with us but what else can we take with us? Maybe a blanket? We might have to sleep on the ground…” he reentered his room, Minhyun following closely behind. 

“Can you lend me some clothes? I don’t think wearing a button up is a great thing to wear with zombies around.” Minki gave him a once over and nodded. 

“Sure. Now that it’s the end of the world, you don’t need to impress anyone anymore.” 

“You’re still here, so I do have someone to impress.” Minhyun coughed and winced at his reply.  _ ‘Fuck, Minki’s gonna know I my secret now’ _ he hestiantly looked at Minki and was disappointed to see him have no reaction. Minhyun sighed and rummaged through Minki’s closet. He pouted to himself as he thought about Minki. 

_ ‘Do I not express my feelings enough for him to catch on or is he just dumb?’ _ he thought. He stumbled upon an old familiar crewneck, his favorite one to be exact. 

“I’ve been looking for this everywhere and you’re telling me you’ve had it this entire time!?” Minki briefly glanced at Minhyun and shrugged his shoulders. Minhyun pouted at the lack of response, unbuttoned his shirt and neatly placed it on the bed. 

“Hey do you have anything in your bag?” Minhyun shook his head. 

“Okay, so you’ll carry the food and water then when we find some.”

“Why do I have to? We could just split it between us so we can carry more and not get tired.” 

“My bag is already full of things we might need.” 

“Oh really? What’s in your bag? Just admit that you just don’t want to carry anything.” MInhyun pointed an accusing finger in the other’s direction. What could Minki possibly be carrying in his bag? Now was not the time for him to be lazy and make Minhyun do all the work.

“For your information, I have a bunch of medical supplies.” Minki glared at Minhyun’s face of astonishment. 

“Was that why you were at the nurse’s office?” The playful look in Minki’s eyes disappeared and he fiddled with his fingers. He kept quiet, refusing to meet Minhyun’s eyes. Realizing how unformatable the boy looked, Minhyun changed the subject. 

“It’s past noon now, we should get going.” Minki nodded in response. 

“You don’t want to change before we go?” 

“Oh, yeah. I should probably do that.” Minhyun left the bedroom, giving Minki some privacy. He once again looked out the living room window and saw even more zombies walking around. 

_ ‘This is really the world we’ll live in now. How long do we have? Can we really survive under these circumstances?’ _ Minhyun didn’t want to have such negative thoughts but he couldn’t help himself. Anyone would go crazy if they had to spend the rest of their lives running in fear and having to constantly look over their shoulders for danger. 

_ ‘No, I can’t have these thoughts. We only have each other and I’m not gonna let Minki go through this alone.’ _ The door to Minki’s bedroom opened and said boy came out with a full black attire. Black jeans and a black hoodie replaced the beige and white outfit he had just been wearing. 

“Ready to go?” Minhyun asked. Minki sadly smiled and slowly took in the interior of his home one last time. 

“I’m never coming back here again.” Minhyun kept quiet this time, he had no idea how to respond or comfort the boy. 

“Let’s go.” And just like that, Minki closed the front door behind him. 

“You know, I spent all of high school trying to save up to get my own place. My mom cried for hours telling me not to leave but my older brother and dad were both proud of me. It’s a shame that I couldn’t stay here longer.” 

“You never know, we might be able to come back in the future.” Minki slowly nodded and gave Minhyun a sad smile. He clearly didn’t believe his words but Minki was grateful to have the taller boy near him right now. 

“Yeah, maybe.” He snapped out of his sadness and pointed down the hall.

“There’s an emergency exit at the opposite end of the hallway. It’ll take us to an alley but we should be able to leave undetected.” 

They began their trek down the stairs in silence. Minki seemed deep in thought about something which was unusual since he was always filled with positive energy. Minhyun couldn’t stand to see Minki so quiet and reserved but something must’ve happened in the hour they were apart and he didn’t want to hound it about it. When he was ready, he would tell Minhyun. 

Minhyun’s thoughts took a dark turn. How long can the body and mind hold out for in such an apocalyptic situation? I could die today, tomorrow, a month from now but so can-” he was startled by the sound of Minki’s voice.

“How do you think this happened?” he quietly asked. How had this happened? Most movies don’t really explain how the undead come back to haunt the living but if they do, it’s usually from a biohazard chemical that somehow spread to the general public or from a simple virus. 

“I don’t know. It seems so sudden, no one was really prepared for this. But I would say a virus.” Minki doesn't answer, contemplating the response. 

“That makes sense.” They finally reached the exit to outside, Minki stopped Minhyun from pushing the door open. 

“We’ll make a run for it but we have to make sure it’s safe for us to do that.” 

“My little Minki is all grown up, being the leader during a zombie apocalypse.”Minhyun reached over and ruffled his soft black hair. 

“Will you stop?” Minki whined, pushing Minhyun’s hand away.

“Aw you’re so cute.” he cooed, pinching the younger’s cheeks instead.

“Ya, Hwang Minhyun do you wanna die?” Minki glared at him but the smile twitching the corner of his lips made him look less threatening then he wanted. 

“I’m so glad to be by your side during the end of the world.” Minki’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed a light pink. 

“How can you say that so calmly?” Minhyun shrugged, his shoulder appearing nonchalant. But in reality he was mentally hitting himself. How could he say something so bold? He honestly thought he had said it in his head and was extremely embarrassed. The only good thing was Minki didn’t seem put off for the comment. Leaving the conversation there, Minhyun finally pushed the door open. 

They listened for any sounds out of the ordinary but everything seemed relatively safe. Walking forward, they hoped they didn’t encounter any surprises. 

“Once we reach the main street, we’ll start running. There’s a large convenience store about a mile from here. We’ll go there to stock up and then rest there.” Minhyun gave him an ‘ok’ but before the taller could continue moving, Minki’s arm blocked his path. 

“Wait, Minhyun. If anything goes wrong you need to keep running. Promise me you’ll keep going if something happens to me.” A certain emotion swirled in the younger’s eyes. An emotion that Minhyun could not decipher but the despair and plead in his voice spoke in volumes. Minki sincerely wanted Minhyun to leave him if things took a bad turn, but how could he do that? He would rather die alongside Minki than leave him to the hands of those flesh eaters. 

“How can you make me promise such a thing? You’re my best friend, Minki. You won’t get rid of me that easily.” Minki wanted to protest but instead, a soft smile formed on his face. 

“Right. I’m sorry for suggesting it. I guess I’m just scared.” Minhyun pulled him in for a hug. 

“We only have each other. You and me against the world.” Minki laughed, breaking the embrace. 

“Usually people say that because they’re in a relationship but you’re using it to refer to the end of the world.” Minhyun coughed, turned and peeked over the wall to see how many zombies were littered around. 

“There’s a horde on the left but the right looks clear. We should walk until we reach the corner of the street. Once we do, we can make a run for it.” Minki hummed in agreement and looked over as well. 

Minhyun could feel the adrenaline course through his body. He had to be extra quiet or else it was game over for them. 

“Go.” mouthed Minki. The taller walked forward with silent footsteps while the other boy followed directly behind him. They both peeked over their shoulders at the horde behind them, praying none of the undead would notice them. However, all their luck would run out in the next second. 

Minhyun had kept his gaze behind him far too long, he had failed to notice the dented can on the sidewalk and kicked it. The sound wouldn’t have been loud in any other circumstance but the noise traveled loud enough for the zombies to hear it. He winced at his mistake and dared to look sheepishly at Minki. 

“I’m gonna kill you.” The younger threatened. The undead had begun to dash towards them and Minhyun could not breath for a second. 

_ ‘This is the end. Oh my god, I’m gonna di-’  _

“RUN.” shouted Minki pulling Minhyun’s arm to run alongside him. They continued to push themselves, afraid to turn around and see the distance between them and the zombies. 

So, Mr. Hwang. You got any ideas in that big head of yours?” 

“Hey! I’ll let you know my head is a normal size.” 

“Seriously? We could die any minute now and you’re more worried about the size of your head?” Before Minhyun could retort back, he noticed a bus blocking the middle of the street. 

“Follow my lead.” He pushed his legs to run faster, pulling Minki besides him. ‘C’mon just a little more. I refuse to die like this.’ Reaching the side of the bus, he pushed Minki through the open doors. 

“What are you-?” Minhyun shushed the boy. 

“Grab their attention, make sure they enter the bus. I’ll go to the driver's seat and open the front entrance. Once you get out, we’ll close the door together that should keep them distracted long enough for us to get away.”

Minki gave the older a hesitant look but then it changed to a more determined one. With no other words, Minki stayed by the exit and began shouting to aggravate the zombies while Minhyun attempted to find the button that opened the door. 

“You have less than 5 seconds before they reach us. Please tell me you found the button.” Fear laced the younger voice and the groans of the undead grew louder. Minhyun had found the button but it wasn’t time yet he needed the zombies to enter the bus. 

“Now would be a good time to open the doors.” cried out Minki, multiple zombies shoved their way into the bus. Minhyun harshly pressed the button and pushed Minki out. 

“Shut the door!” He and MInki leaned their weight against the doors forcing it closed while the zombies pounded on the glass. With the doors shut tight, they high fived each other. 

“You’re so smart! I could kiss you right now.” 

“Please do.” Minhyun blurted out without thinking. 

“What?” Minki asked with a confused look on his face. 

“I mean...I saw it in another movie once. Um, we should go before those zombies realize the other door is still open.” The taller cleared his throat and refused to meet Minki’s eyes. Since he walked away, heading in the direction the younger had pointed out earlier, he failed to realise the soft look Minki sent him. 

“The convenience store isn’t too far from here, if we don’t encounter any more problems then we should make it there in less than 30 minutes.” 

“Why don’t we run? We’ll get there in half the time.” Minhyu suggested but MInki frantically shook his head. 

“If we run we might attract too much attention and have more of those flesh eaters chasing us.” They quicken their pace leaving behind the bus full of zombies. Although Minki’s reasoning sounded logical, Minhyun could hear how tired he was from his voice. 

“You just don’t wanna run anymore.” Minki stayed silent and shrugged. Their conversation died there, they were too afraid to speak since they didn’t want to attract more trouble. They had finally reached a street that was void of any corpses. Letting out a sigh of relief, the tense left their bodies but their ears remained on high alert, just in case. 

“Let’s play a game to pass the time.” Minhyun sought a bit of normality among them two and to him, the best way to do it was suggest playing a childish game. He took Minki’s silence as a ‘yes’ and proceeded with his plan. 

“I spy with my little eye something...red.” Minhyun spotted a coca cola can gently swaying on the ground as the wind blew a little harder. 

“The blood on the floor..” Minki replied. Minhyun furrowed his eyebrows and looked down. He hadn’t noticed before but the floor did in fact have multiple puddles of blood staining the floor. And to his horror, Minhyun was currently standing in said puddle. He let out a yelp and jumped back, he painted the concrete red with bloody footprints. 

“Oh, I’ll change my answer. Your red footprint.” Minki said with a smirk on his face. Minhyun whined and began to complain to Minki. 

“Minki, you’re no fun.” 

They continued their walk in silence. Minhyun felt as if everything was back to normal. He could almost imagine him and Minki going out to eat after their classes ended for the day. Maybe in an alternate universe, none of this would have ever happened. For all he knew, maybe his other self had confessed his feelings and the other Minki had accepted. There could be countless versions of Minhyun and Minki on some other dimension and perhaps they were extremely happy together. Speaking of alternate universes, 

“What if in another dimension, we are in a kpop group and became one of the top male idols in Korea?” Minhyun asked, eagerly awaiting the younger’s response. 

“Oh yeah? How many members would we have?” Minhyun contemplated the answer seriously. 

“A lot of popular groups have a lot of members now, maybe five? Yeah! Five! That would allow each member to shine equally.” he was proud of his response but Minki bursted out laughing. 

“Keep dreaming, Minhyun.” The taller pouted and brood in silence behind the younger. 

A few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the convenience store Minki had mentioned before. The store itself looked brand new as if he had just recently been constructed. The lights seemed to flicker and the place looked void of any kind of presence, both human and undead. Still, it didn’t hurt to be extra careful when entering the store. 

“Let’s check to see if it’s safe enough to enter.” Minhyun took the lead again and pushed the door open. It creaked open, the noise coming from their shoes squeaking against the linoleum floor. The ground was littered with snacks and many racks were thrown on the ground, perhaps the people who had been here had ran out in a rush. 

“You stay here. I’ll look around and see if there’s any zombies here.” Minki grabbed his arm before he could move. 

“Wait, I’m pretty sure a zombie would’ve appeared by now if there was one here. Besides you don’t have anything to use as a weapon so I think it would be better if we went together. Two is better than one.” Minhyun’s heroic moment was over before it had even started but Minki had a point, or perhaps he was too afraid to be alone. 

“Are you afraid, Minki?” he said with a teasing tone. 

“Next time we’re running from zombies, I’m gonna trip you and let them eat you.” Minhyun let out a loud laugh but shut up once he saw Minki’s serious face. 

“You wouldn’t.” Minki didn’t say anything and went ahead of Minhyun. 

“Oh geez, he totally would do that.” he said to himself. Moving to walk beside Minki, they thoroughly checked every aisle and behind the cash counter. The whole store was surprisingly empty to their delight. 

“Since the store is clean, let’s split up and get as much food as we can.” 

Minki disappeared before Minhyun could even utter a word. Shrugging his shoulders he went to the aisles in the opposite of Minki/ Most of the racks were stacked with junk food and candy, while it would be good snacks they wouldn’t be very nutritious for them. He continued searching for non perishable foods and almost gave up but was lucky to find a large stack of trail mix. Minhyun didn’t not waste a moment and threw all the snacks into his bag. To his surprise there was still more space left inside, so he continued looking for more food. As he went down to the next aisle he found many instant ramen cups lining up the racks. 

“I wonder if the hot water machine works?” he asked himself. He whirled around and went to check said machine. To his delight, the on button was flashing green. Excitedly, he fist pumped the air and quickly skipped the ramen options. Happily humming to himself, he didn’t notice Minki coming behind him. 

“What are you doing?” Minhyun jumped, startled by the other boy and whirled around to face him. 

“The water still works so we can eat some ramen while we rest up.” Minki visibly brightened up. 

“Really? I’m starving.” his arms were filled with multiple bottles and he placed them gently on the floor. 

“Here, I’ll make you one.” Minhyun ripped open the plastic and placed the paper cup underneath the water nozzle. With the press of a button, steaming hot water poured out and into the dry mix. Minhyun passed a pair of disposable chopsticks to Minki and gave him the ramen cup. 

Minki gave him a grateful smile and sat on the cold floor, digging into his meal. 

“Did you find anything useful?” Minhyun asked as he prepared another cup for himself. Minki slurped at the noodles happily chewing before answering. 

“Some flashlights, batteries, and a box of matches. Oh and water bottles too of course. Did you find anything good?” 

“Yeah, some trail mix bags but other than that, there’s not much.” Minhyun could hardly contain his hunger as the smell of the ramen reached his nose.

“I also found some banana milk, your favorite.” Minki tossed the drink in Minhyun’s direction but then realized his mistake. Minhyun had just picked up his cup and was getting ready to eat but as the drink soared through the air, he dropped his ramen to catch the milk. There was no way Minhyun could’ve saved his precious ramen and he watched horrified as the cup fell on the floor.

Silence surrounded the boys. Minhyun had looked as if he had lost everything in his life while Minki tried to suppress his laughter. 

“Y-You made me drop my ramen.” 

“Oops.” Minki gave him an unapologetic grin. Minhyun glared at him and begrudgingly began preparing another ramen cup for himself. While he waited, he began to clean up the mess Minki had made him create. 

“Hey, Minhyun?” the taller hummed in response, concentrating on soaking up the ramen broth with a roll of paper towel he had managed to find. 

“I met someone today.” Minhyun choked on his saliva and violently coughed. Minki reached over to pat him on the back but the other raised his hand, stopping him from coming close. 

“I’m good. Go on.” he wheezed. His mind immediately drew up another scenario. Had Minki really met someone right before the apocalypse? What did this mean? Will Minki want to go looking for this person? Did Minhyun have the strength to help Minki? No, he had to listen to the boy before getting hung up on some wild story he had conjured up. 

And so, Minki told him the story about Juwon, the boy he had meant and wanted to save. Minhyun felt his heart tear in two at the sight of Minki’s tears and the despair on his face. He never wanted to see a heartbroken look on Minki’s face ever again, the pain that swam in his eyes was something MInhyun could not bare to see. Minhyun shuffled closer to the boy, ramen forgotten, and placed a comforting hand on his leg. 

“I’m so afraid now. What if something happens to you? I don’t think I can find the strength to leave you behind, the same way I had to leave Juwon. Minhyun, you mean so much to me and I don’t think I can-” 

Minhyun cut him off and pulled him into a hug. 

“Are you stupid? There wasn’t anything you could’ve done for Juwon. As for me, I can’t die now. Not when I have to take care of your dumb ass.” Minki let out a soft chuckle, burying himself deeper into the taller’s hug. 

_ ‘Should I tell him now? Will he even accept my confession? Damn, I should’ve just made him late to class this morning instead of pushing it off. It’s now or never.’  _

“You know, Minki. I’ve been in love with you for the past few years now.” 

Minki tensed up in his arms. Minhyun felt an intense dread claw in his stomach as Minki pulled away from the embrace. As they stared intently into each other’s eyes, Minhyun realized how pretty Minki looked under the flickering lights. 

His eyes were swollen from his tears but the water decorating the corner of his eyes shined like twinkling pearls and his cheeks were flushed red. They might be eating ramen on the floor of a convenience store during the zombie apocalypse but Minki continued to look like the fairy prince he was. 

“I know it’s sudden but I just needed to tell you. I was gonna confess while we were walking to school but then you had to go so I couldn’t say anything. You don’t have to accept it, we can still remain friends and forget this ever happen-” 

“What? I thought we were already dating?”Minki looked at him confused. Minhyun’s jaw dropped, dumbfounded at Minki’s response. 

“Huh?” he asked dumbly. 

“Minhyun, I literally spend every waking moment with you. I sleep at your house more than my mom and we always share the bed.” Minhyun could not believe what he was hearing. He had thought Minki was just being clingy and enjoyed annoying him but apparently Minhyun was too oblivious. 

“Don’t you remember that time we got drunk last month? You told me to go out with you. You even kissed me.” Minhyun gaped at the sudden memory. How could he not remember such a moment? He was an idiot. Minhyun groaned in embarrassment while Minki giggled and patted his shoulder. 

“You’re really stupid but It’s okay, I’m attracted to morons.” Minhyun wasn’t given enough time to retort back because suddenly the bell attached to the front door rang out. Both boys instantly shut their mouths, listening intently for kind of danger. 

“What do we do?” Minki mouthed as the footsteps got closer. 

“I don’t know.” he mouthed back. 

“-standing guard. We should stock up before leaving, who knows how long it’ll be until we have to come back to the city.” an unknown voice said. Minki and MInhyun faced each other, surprised at the sound of another human voice who seemed accompanied by someone else. 

“Do you think we’ll get far in the car?” another voice asked. 

“We just filled it up so we should be able to make it to the campsite without any troubles. Besides, I had the great idea of taking extra gasoline with us.” the first voice said. 

Minki suddenly stood up, drawing the attention of the other two strangers. 

“Hi.” he said waving at them. They both yelled in fear and hugged each other. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Minki and this is-” he looked to his side and saw the space empty. Rolling his eyes, he crouched and pulled Minhyun to his feet. 

“This is Minhyun.” The two strangers stared at them in surprise and then glanced at each other. This gave Minhyun time to look them over. One male was shorter than the other and had his hair hidden underneath his cap, he had really thick eyebrows, Minhyun felt a little jealous about it. He was wearing a pair of trainer pants, a plain black t-shirt and white windbreaker. The other male was a bit taller and had a very kind face. His hair covered his forehead but he looked at both of them with sweetness and friendliness. 

“I’m Jonghyun and this is Aron” the second male said pointing towards the boy with the cap. 

“We haven’t run into any more survivors so we’re just surprised.” Aron narrowed his eyes at Minhyun, the latter gulped at the intense stare. 

“Is that ramen in your hand?” Minhyun looked down at his hands and realized the cup in his hands.  _ ‘Did I hug Minki with this in my hand?’  _ he asked himself. 

“Is it ramen?” Aron asked again. 

“Yeah?” Minhyun replied. Aron cheered in delight and excitedly looked at Jonghyun.

“It works!” 

“You should ask Dongho if he wants some.” Jonghyun suggested. Aron nodded and returned to the front of the store, the little bell signaling his exit. 

“There’s more of you?” Minhyun asked. 

“Just one more. It’s me, Aron and Dongho. We were all in the same music class at school and we just so happened to be together when this all happened. What about you guys?” 

“We’re friends too. We were separated but met up again during school.” replied Minki this time.

“Really? You guys go to the university nearby?” Minhyun nodded at Jonghyun’s question. 

“Small world. We attend there too, or at least used to. Aron is 2 years older than us but he’s from America so he doesn’t really care for Korean honorifics.” The bell rang again and this time another unfamiliar voice joined Aron’s. 

“It works? Thank God, I was feeling super hungry.” Another person appeared next to Aron. He was taller than the older but the same height as Jnghyun. At first glance, the man looked incredibly scary especially because of his muscles that peeked through his white shirt. 

“Dongho, this is Minki and Minhyun..” Jonghyun introduced them to each other. The man gave them a once over and then broke out into a large smile. 

“Glad to see some fellow survivors.Now where’s the ramen I was promised?” Minki moved out of the way, letting Dongho zero in on the hot water machine. He hummed happily and prepared his cup. 

“How long have you guys been here?” Jonghyun asked moving closer to the two tall boys, carefully watching as Dongho and Aron ate their ramen. 

“Two hours maybe? We went to MInki’s house first before looking for more resources.” replied MInhyun as he joined Dongho and Aron on the ground. Both boys paid no mind to Minhyun, too focused on their noodles. 

Jonghyun was the only one who remained standing but every time he put weight on his left leg, he would wince softly. Minhyun wasn't the only one who noticed Jonghyun's discomfort. Minki had scooted closer to the other 

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked softly, drawing the attention of the other two boys.

"Huh? Yeah, I just got a small scratch. I'll be fine." Jonghyun tried to shrug off Minki's concerned look. Minki frowned at the boy's response and pulled his bag closer to him. 

"Lemme see it." Jonghyun opened his mouth to protest but caught the eyes of Aron and Dongho. He sighed and pulled up his pants leg. A large, angry scrape covered his knee and many deep scratches covered the skin on his knee and lower leg. 

"What the fuck? When did that happen!?" Cried out Dongho. 

“Remember when we split up and met at the supermarket? On my way there, a horde was following after me and so I tried to lose them but nothing I did could shake them off. Then I saw a metal fence in an alley and I thought it was my only chance so I hoped it. But just as I reached the top one of them managed to grab my ankle so I kicked at its face. I ended up losing my grip and fell on the other side.’ 

“When were you planning on telling us? Those scratches could've gotten worse and then what would’ve you done?” scolded Aron. Dongho nodded along in agreement but Minhyun could see how scared and concerned they were for the boy. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.” Aron’s gaze softened and he patted Jonghyun’s uninjured leg. 

“Talk to us Jonghyun. You took on the leadership role ever since this started but that doesn’t mean you have to get the burden. You’re not alone.” Jonghyun gave the oldest a grateful smile. Minki dug into his bag for some bandages and disinfectant wipes. 

“I can’t do much but clean the wounds to make sure it doesn’t get infected and put bandages on the bad cuts. But it’s not a life threatening scrape so we don’t need to worry.” Jonghyun’s eyes widened in amazement at the stuff Minki had taken out from his bag. 

“You’re a medic or do you just have medical supplies?” 

“A medic? I wish, maybe then my dad would stop hounding me about my major. When I was younger, I used to get in a lot of trouble and used to get a lot of cuts. I never wanted to make my mother worry so I would take care of myself. I guess it paid off huh.” Minki laughed while Minhyun rolled his eyes. 

“Why are you trying to sound cool? A lot of his cuts came from feeding stray cats. Just the other day, he came over to my house with a long bleeding cut because he found a new stray.” Jonghyun chuckled at Minhyun’s story. Minki glared at his friend and pouted. 

“Why must you pop my bubble? Jonghyun was starting to think I’m cool but now you ruined it.” he whined. 

“I don’t think you’re just cool, Minki. You’re adorable too.” Minhyun laughed this time, more because of Minki’s bright red cheeks. 

“Not another one. Minhyun calls me cute all the time.” he whined again. All four boys cooed at him, trying to annoy him. 

“You know, I could leave you all here to rot.” Mnki threatened. 

The midday sunlight was beginning to cast a shadow over the store. Nighttime would fall soon and Minhyun hoped he and Minki would be able to find a place to crash for the night. But if they were lucky, perhaps Jonghyun would ask them to join-

“Why don’t you guys come with us?” Jonghyun asked. Minhyun was actually surprised at Jonghyun’s suggestion. Grateful, yes but surprised as well. 

“You don’t have to agree, you can talk it out before giving us response. But if the five of us are together, we have a higher chance of surviving.” Minhyun and MInki quickly met each other’s eyes and seemed to have a mental conversation. Within a few seconds, they had reached a fast conclusion. 

“If it’s no bother to you guys, we’d be happy to join you.” Minhyun replied, lacing his hand into Minki's. The other three boys gave them both a bright grin.

“Great, welcome abroad.” said Dongho. 

Once Dongho and Aron finished their ramen, all five boys prepared themselves to leave. 

“Where are we heading?” asked Minki. 

“We’re going as far as Dongho’s car can take us. We just want to survive.” Jonghyun replied. 

“Jonghyun, you’re trying too hard to impress them. A few miles away the city melts away and the roads lead through the woods. My cousins rented a cabin surrounded by nature last year. If we’re lucky, we might be able to set up camp there.” interjected Dongho. 

“Dongho~” Jonghyun whined. “I was trying to act like a character from a zombie movie.”

“Wait, you guys have a car?” chimed in Minki. Aron nodded in response. 

“Yeah, while me and Jonghyun went to get food at the market, DOngho hotwired a car. We didn’t even know he could do that.” Dongho nervously laughed. 

“It’s a secret talent.” MInhyun had wanted to ask more about the subject but decided it was a story for later. 

“Do you guys have anything else besides the medical supplies?” asked Aron. 

“Some flashlights, matches, batteries and food of course.” replied Minhyun, checking off a mental list in his head. 

“We have a lot of resources in our car so we won’t have to restock any time soon. We should go before it gets darker or else the headlights might attract zombies.” Jonghyun said, taking the role of leader suited him well. 

“Alright then. We-” Aron interrupted Jonghyun. 

“I call shotgun!” 

“Aron, I wanted to ride shotgun.” Jonghyun whined. Both boys continued to playfully bicker while Dongho chuckled at them. 

“Are there any flesh eaters out there?” Minki asked, cutting both boys off. Minhyun peeked out the window and saw a few wandering the street. 

“There’s a few but if we’re quiet we should get by undetected. Dongho, where did you park your car?” 

“It’s right out front.” 

“We’re gonna have to get rid of the bell on top of the door or else they’ll hear us once we open it.” Jonghyun’s voice had become incredibly serious all of a sudden, a stark contrast to the voice he had used when playing with Aron. 

“I think I’m tall enough to reach it. I’ll hold it while you guys exit, then I’ll just have to run really quick.” Minhyun suggested. If he messed up this plan, it would be over for all of them and he was not gonna be the reason why Minki and his new friends were gonna die. Minki looked as if he wanted to complain about the plan but he knew they didn’t have much time until it got dark. 

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much.” Minhyun tried to reassure him, but he wasn’t very good at hiding the fear in his voice.

“I don’t think there’s any other option. I’ll go first. Dongho give me the keys and I’ll unlock the passenger doors.” said Jonghyun. Dongho handed over the car keys and looked extremely nervous doing so. 

“Once I unlock the doors, you three will come out. Dongho go in through the passenger door while Aron and Minki you’ll go to the back. As soon as the last one enters the backseat, MInhyun you need to run like your life depends on it.” 

They all nodded, agreeing to the plan. Jonghyun shared a look with Minhyun, don’t you die, he seemed to say. The next few seconds felt like eternity. Just like Jonghyun had said, Minhyun had reached for the bell to silence it while the other boy unlocked the car doors. He beckoned the next three to follow him quietly. The plan seemed to be going great now all that was left was Minhyun letting go. 

Just when his adrenaline began to pump through his body, his nervous palm had let go of the bell too soon. A clear ring was heard, drawing the attention of the horde. The zombies whirled around and immediately honed in on Minhyun’s figure. 

Minhyun felt his heart drop at his stupidity. He froze there, unable to comprehend what was going on. His mind began to conjure up a mental image of him being tackled to the floor, the feeling of his body being ripped apart, his screams-

“MINHYUN! RUN!” shouted a desperate voice. 

That was enough to jump start Minhyun’s rationale. He began to run, all the energy that disappeared from earlier moments had suddenly recharged. Pushing himself to his limit, he got closer to the car. The engition started and a hand reached out the car, a hand that belonged to the one and only Choi Minki. Tightly grasping the outstretched hand, Minhyun was pulled into the car. 

Dongho immediately began to drive but a zombie had managed to hold onto Minhyun’s pants. Aron, Minki and Minhyun screamed in fear, unable to act. But Dongho sped up, the zombie had lost its grip, rolled out of the car and Minki immediately shut the door. The car remained in silence for a few seconds but was broken by Aron’s laugh. 

“Holy shit. We almost died.” he cried out. No one knew how to respond. Minki instead pulled on Minhyun’s sweater and smashed his lips against his own. Minhyun let out a surprise noise but before he could ease up, Minki quickly pulled away. 

“This is the second time you almost died today. What the fuck.” 

“Actually, it’s the third time.’ Minhyun stupidly replied. He looked up and saw the suggestive grins the other boys were throwing at him. 

“So, we got a couple of lovebirds. Hey Jonghyun-” Aron was cut off by Jonghyun. 

“No.” 

“You’re no fun. Hey Dongho-”

“Oh so, I’m your second choice?” 

“You know what they say, first is the worst, second is the best.” 

“In your dreams.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly had no idea how to end this TT but I hope it was okay? Anyways I want to thank the team behind Nufics cause without them I would've never written this story without their schedule. I hope to do this again with them in the future. 
> 
> I love reading comments about what my readers think so please leave below and don't forget to give me some kudos. 
> 
> Until next time, bye~


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